The difference between pledging and hazing

One question you might want to address is; are pledging and hazing the same thing? If you pledge, will there be hazing? To often, there is.
One of the things we can be in denial about is the definition of hazing. You have to understand that hazing could be something as innocuous as making someone wear a silly costume and singing a song, all the way up to drinking a fifth of alcohol. You need to know the definition of hazing. That definition is that any behavior that is demeaning, silly, or dangerous that's required to get into an organization, such as a fraternity.

Hank Nuwer

Hazing Expert

Hank Nuwer is a writer and social critic who writes on the topic of hazing as an international human rights abuse issue and USA high school and campus safety issue. The State University of New York's Buffalo State College awarded him a Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1999 and Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters in 2006 for his long career as a hazing historian and researcher. His first investigative story on hazing appeared in 1978 for Human Behavior Magazine, including his groundbreaking interview on hazing as a form of Groupthink conducted with Groupthink theorist Irving Janis.

One question you might want to address is; are pledging and hazing the same thing? If you pledge, will there be hazing? To often, there is.
One of the things we can be in denial about is the definition of hazing. You have to understand that hazing could be something as innocuous as making someone wear a silly costume and singing a song, all the way up to drinking a fifth of alcohol. You need to know the definition of hazing. That definition is that any behavior that is demeaning, silly, or dangerous that's required to get into an organization, such as a fraternity.